We report on the structural and magnetic properties of single and double atomic layers of Mn on a clean and unreconstructed Nb(110) substrate. Low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements reveal a proximity-induced superconducting state in the Mn thin films, which are found to grow pseudomorphically on the Nb surface. Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy measurements reveal a c(2x2) antiferromagnetic order in the Mn layers, with an out-of-plane spin-orientation. First-principles density functional theory calculations confirm the experimentally observed magnetic state, which is understood as the consequence of a strong intra- and inter-layer nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic exchange coupling. These results are expected to be of importance for the design and the investigation of novel superconducting antiferromagnetic spintronic systems.
@article{arxiv.2109.03743,
title = {Coexistence of Antiferromagnetism and Superconductivity in Mn/Nb(110)},
author = {Roberto Lo Conte and Maciej Bazarnik and Krisztián Palotás and Levente Rózsa and László Szunyogh and André Kubetzka and Kirsten von Bergmann and Roland Wiesendanger},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.03743},
year = {2022}
}